After the Last Stand
by yAnWa
Summary: Alternative Universe. After the events of The Last Stand, the fear of mutants is more present than ever. The X-Men struggle with the loss of three senior members and Erik Lehnsherr meets a young FBI-Agent, who turns out to be a very unique kind of mutant. Warnings inside. This is for SpencerRemyLvr, so the pairing should be easy enough to guess ;) Other pairing mentioned
1. Chapter 1

_**AN1**:This is for SpencerRemyLvr. I have yet to review on your fics which is a shame ^^° So, instead I do it this way ;P I really enjoyed reading your fics in the past, but since you started adding more than 'just' romance into the mix, I've started love them :D I like that you take your time with developing the relationships, it suits the characters much better. Also, Keep experimenting, different is good ^.~ Just ask any mutant, they will verify that XD Thank you for many hours of enjoyment ^^ I hope this will give you a few as well._

_I will add warnings as the story goes on but for everyone who doesn´t care for sexual harassment (not sure how far this will go yet), violence, bodily harm and such things, this is not for you ._. I have a roughly done plot, but details may change. Including warnings, so if you´re not open for that, I´m sorry ^^°_

_**AN2**: I´m neither native english, nor native french ^^° And unbeta'ed. So... yeah, you´ve been warned. Feel free to correct me ._._

_**AN3**: I´m going with the movies here. Unfortunately, ffnet seems to have a nearly death X-Men movie section and well -.- it´s nearly death. I think the fic is just better placed in here. This takes place just after the Last Stand._

_Included are: X-Men, X-Men: United, X-Men: First Class, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, X-Men: The Last Stand._

_Not included: The Wolverine and X-Men: Days of Future Past. I might pick up some backgrounds from the comics, but nothing big. As for Criminal Minds: This takes place somewhere around the beginning of season 7. I´m not confident writing Blake yet and I kind of miss Emily ._._

_Okay, enough ANs ^^ Enjoy._

* * *

**After the Last Stand**

**Chapter 1**

Erik was annoyed, even though on the outside, he appeared calm. The park should be quiet and most people might agree. However, the man sitting in front of the chess board was so frustrated; he heard every single chirp of every single bird in what felt to be a hundred feet ratio. Ever mutter of 'good old friends' playing various games at the tables. Most of them senior citizen, incompetent and blissfully unaware of just how meaningless their lives had been. He heard every laugh and squeal of foolish children who sat in front of the games. Too incompetent to even grasp the mastery of this game, yet daring to insult it by shoving the pieces around without even planning ahead.

He didn´t belong here. This was not his place, not where he was supposed to be. Not what he was supposed to do. Thankfully, by now these idiots had learned to not ask the lone man sitting in front of the board for a game. It was amusing, showing them their incompetence, but it was also a waste of time. He´d rather practice.

Shifting his attention to the metal pieces in front of him, he tried to concentrate. To blend out all this annoying noise and only focus on the metal in front of him. He wasn´t quite successful, he knew it. Unconsciously, he still noticed them. It was hard to break with old habits. As Magneto, moving metal had been so easy, he had trained himself to be aware of his surroundings, to notice possible dangers. Never would he have thought he would need so much effort to move a single piece of metal, when he had done that. Now, it was difficult to find back into that calm state. As a young man, he had dreaded the thought, had almost been afraid of what might happen, if the piece really moved. What might happen when it did. What Shawn and the Nazis might do next.

Now, he longed for it. It was no longer a coin, he tried to move. It was a single piece of chess but it felt like an almost unmovable barrier, keeping him from being who he should be. Erik focused harder, making that piece of chess the single object of his awareness. He could do it. He had done it before. In his very park, in the library. The cure, or rather the curse as he called it, was not absolute. He could do it.

There! For a moment, he felt like he could grasp it again. The connections between the atoms, that unique combination formed into what was called metal. His talents, now a glow instead of the powerful flame it used to be, flickered back to life and he needed to be fast, take advance of it and move the damn piece. Create another crack in the wall of a human, normal life that was not his!

Excitement bloomed in his chest, the long missed feeling of victory. But he couldn´t allow himself to bask in it, not yet. He needed to move the piece first. His steel grey eyes fixated on the King, his fingers reaching towards the piece, but not taking a hold of it. Do it! Move!

The magnetic field around the piece was there, just out of his reach. The King waggled slightly.

Lift it! Erik could feel his pulse rising, his hands starting to sweat.

Just when he was sure it was going to move, something knocked into him, breaking his concentration.

For a moment, he wanted to murder whoever responsible. He looked up and saw a young man. Or rather, a boy. Asian most likely. A little bit overweight. In his hands, he held a slightly damaged chess clock. It didn´t take Erik long to figure out he must have dropped it and while picking it up, the boy´s backpack dumped into Erik. Annoying.

"Ah, I´m sorry, Mister." The brat said while he placed the clock on the table next to Erik and shifted his back pack on the floor. Trying not to let the disgust be shown on his face, Erik observed as the boy placed a turntable chess set on the table. So, he was one of those who thought they could master the game. Unlikely.

Looking down at the chess piece in front of him, Erik lifted his hand again, but once again didn´t touch the pieces. There was no use in practicing while the brat was here. He could see the boy hesitating, looking to him. Most likely wondering why Erik sat alone and didn´t play. Well, it should give him a hint to leave him alone and get lost. But the human was to dump to get it. At least, he didn´t attempt to ask him for a game. So much for small favors.

When the boy started to play, Erik found himself suprised that the brat seemed to be at least a decent player. He was focused and eager and thinking hard. Obviously he had memorized some advanced strategies but he was not yet fully able to really see all the options available. He was lacking in getting a fine grip on the strategies and it took him some time to see some openings. But he was decent, Erik had to admit that. Maybe even a bit better than decent, but too much praise is wasted for mere human. With a bit of guidance, he might become better, he was young after all. Erik wondered what kind of mutant the boy might have been if evolution had blessed him with some advanced mutation. But again, wasted effort.

When the boy oversaw another opening, Erik couldn´t help but snort. The Asian kid froze and frowned, the piece ruining what would have been an superb move still in hand. It took a few moments, but slowly, the kid lowered the piece back onto the board. Really, it took quite some time, but at least the boy seemed able to learn. Something that didn´t happen often in regards to humans. Finally, the kid seemed to see the move and quickly continued the game. It was over in three more moves.

As the boy lowered the king to the ground, he looked up to Erik in something akin to wonder. Then his gaze shiften down again to the board in front of Erik. Obviously, this time the kid wouldn´t stay silence.

"Care for a game, Mister?" The boy asked.

"No." The former Magneto instantly refused. The boy appeared crestfallen, but didn´t get lost either.

"You don´t play anymore as well?" The boy asked. Erik send him a look which should have told the kid just how much he didn´t want to listen to the boy´s nonsense. He didn´t get the hint and blabbered on.

"This friend of mine-" Well, what a promising start into a monolog about something he absolutely had no interest in. "- he´s a really great player. It´s like he´s got all possible moves in his head. I´ve never beat him."

Erik decided the boy simply had no grasp for what was a 'great player'. Obviously someone was so much better than him, it must seem to the boy that this person knew every possible combination. In the end, every player was a victim to his own habits. Breaking those habits and being unpredictable was an art in itself. However, considered the kid was at least decent, this friend of his must possess some skill. How much it really was judged by Erik´s standards, was another matter. It wasn´t for nothing Magneto was considered a great tactician a strategist.

"Well, he stopped playing some day." The boy continued and the former Magneto wondered if that friend had been bored by his opponent or simply annoyed by him. Either could be reason enough to stop play with him. "And we talked about it and he told me every game was to some point an variation of the exact same theme. Aggressive opening, patient midgame and eventually checkmate. At some point, you know all the moves. And he really does know all the moves." The kid repeated and despite himself, Erik listened. The conversation started to move into a direction he had not anticipated. No matter how unlikely and even though the man hardly could calculate any moves - he would need to be a genius to do so - his curiosity was awakened. This live was boring and he longed for a challenge. Even if it was just a well played game of chess with what sounded to be an oppononet what might be worth his time. So even though he didn´t want to encourage the kid, he found himself wondering what happened to the player and so he asked. "He doesn´t play anymore?"

A pleased grin appeared on the brats face and Erik almost cursed himself. He was sure the kid was gloating over being able to draw him into a conversation. But the next words proved him wrong and revealed the real reason for the boys expression.

"He does. He started playing again. Don´t know why, he didn´t tell me. But he told me he´d come by today if he´s not too busy." The boy explained. "I´m sure he´d love to meet you. It doesn´t happen often someone sees a move before I do." Most likely, because the majority of people are idiots. But Erik stopped himself from saying the words. There was simply no point in getting into an argument with a child.

There was a mixture of pride and shyness in the boy´s voice. He must be aware that he was better than most players present but apparently didn´t want to brag about it. It appeared he only did that in some strange form of argument about why that friend of his might want to meet Erik. Strange boy.

Erik didn´t grace the boy with an answer though and finally getting the hint that the old man was not interested in a conversation with him, the boy appeared insecure for a moment, before he started to reset his own chest pieces. Well, apparently the brat was far from being the most social successful specimen. Eager to make friends but also failing to do so. The former Magneto wondered again about the person the boy called his friend.

Returning his attention to the pieces in front of him, Erik still didn´t pick it up, just held his hand above one of the pieces. For an outsider, it appeared like a player unsure of a move and that´s exactly how it should seem. The boy was too close to risk lifting the piece. As long as he didn´t have some control of his powers back, he needed to be very careful. But he still could try to feel out the pieces, try to feel the metal and it´s components. The magnetic field surrounding them. He hadn´t been able to feel that again for quite some time. Get a grasp on the metal, yes, but not the magnetism. These days, it was as rare to feel it as it was precious.

Which made the fact that he had to give up so close to accomplishing his task even more annoying. He couldn´t really get back into the trance like state which had enabled him to feel the metal. It was rather pointless, really. It didn´t hinder him from continuing though. It´s not like he had something urgent to do anyway.

His hand hovered close to the piece had wanted to lift with his power. Attempting to feel the magnetic field with his fingertips, of course the boy beside him had to open his trap again.

"I see checkmate in six." The boy announced and looked at the board. "What do you see?"

Scowling displeased, Erik looked down at the board and almost sneered. Stupid boy, he could see-

"Checkmate in four." A soft voice said from behind the cured mutant, practically speaking out Erik´s thoughts.

The first thought running through Erik´s mind was 'Telepath', but it was interrupted when he felt metal brush against his finger.

His brain seemed to short wire for a moment. Then he looked down at his hand, the metal piece between his fingers. Not really touching them, it hovered in the air. Quickly, he grasped the piece. Perplex, he looked at the chess figure in his hand. He didn´t pick it up by hand, he definitely didn´t. He was sure it lifted. THe moment he got over his wonder and surprise, he noticed the reappearance of something he had missed so long. He could feel the magnetism in the piece. Just slightly, but there. It felt wonderful. Relieving. Complete again.

Carefully, he set the piece down and looked around. Just sligthly, he could feel the iron in the boy´s blood. And in the blood of the young man he was talking to. He wanted to bask in the feeling. He wanted to grasp it and never let go. It might not be permanent, since the cure, feeling his talent never had been permanent. But it was progress, he hadn´t felt it so clear since before the poison entered his body.

"Hey, Mister!" Again, that annoying brat ripped his concentration. The excitement over his returning, healing talent however overweightened the annoyance and the awareness returned.

He was in public! He needed to be careful if he didn´t want to be poisoned again. Who knew who was watching. Erik couldn´t let them find out, so he covered up his excitement and shifted his attention to the... well, again a young man. But definitely older than the boy. Caucasian, not Asian. And looking at him, observing him.

His earlier suspicion returned to him, but he quickly subdued it. If the man really was a telepath, then it would already be too late. He needed to find out if his secret was already busted or if this was a simple coincidence. And if not, then he would need to find out if this was a friend or a foe.

Observing the man while he spoke rather rapidly to the boy, the former Magneto tried to concentrate on his inner wall and thoughts. He had learned a few tricks while still friends with Charles. Rapidly shifting through his memories, some of them rather gruesome, he kept close attention to the young man. No reaction. Most telepaths reacted to suddenly gory pictures popping up in ones mind. But he saw no reaction here. Either the man was very skilled in suppressing his reactions, or he was no telepath. Considered the close attention he was paying the boy, who seemed to soak it up like a leech, Erik was pretty sure he could go for the latter. Relieved, he finally decided to pay some attention to what he man was saying.

"-earlier. But then I saw the food van and they are selling coffee..." The young man drifted off, blushing slightly when the boy chuckled. Well, someone had it bad. The boy clearly adored the young man and maybe even crushed on him. Erik was unsure just why he took notice. Those silly lives didn´t concern him. Those silly problems didn´t concern him.

"It´s alright, Dr. Reid." The boy quickly reassured the man and Erik found himself stumbled over the unexpected title. Maybe the young man just graduated? "I´ve had some company. I´d think you might like to play with him, he seems to be really good too." The boy turned to Erik, who suddenly found himself the object of attention. It registered to him that this 'Dr. Reid' seemed to be the so called friend the boy had spoken of earlier. Again, Erik found himself surprised. The man didn´t look like much but who better to know to not judge people by appearance alone than a mutant. And he still was a mutant, despite the cure turned curse. The metal piece in his hand proved it. He was still superior to these petty humans. As for Dr. Reid... Erik had to admit, his curiosity was spiked and after all, he had wanted some challenge and apparently, the young ma seemed able to provide at least a decent game. And added to that, Magneto always had a sense for opportunity and his guts told him this was one he wouldn´t want to pass on. He made a quick decision and offered in a dry tone: "Care for a game, Doctor?"

Dr. Reid blushed and fumbled with his messenger back while the boy next to them seemed abnormally excited and eager.

"Just Reid or Spencer is fine." The brunette man offered while he observed the pieces on the board. "That´s an intriguing chess set, Sir." He stated and somehow, Erik felt as if he was categorized and analysed, despite the fact that the young man seemed polite and almost shy.

"Erik, please." He said. No point giving away too many information. If the man believed him to be just another senior citizen in a park, it was not an view Erik planned to correct anytime soon. People lowered their guard if they believed their opposites to be harmless. However, he had the strange feeling it might become difficult to fool the man for long. He wondered why, clearly Reid was just as socially inept if not even more so than the asian boy.

Making an offering hand gesture towards the seat across from him, Erik added: "It was a present from an old friend." He said, just to keep up the appearance. The set had been a present from someone who had been once a friend, but Erik Lehnsherr had no desire to inform Reid of the complete history between himself and Charles. A shame how this had turned out. Some days, he still felt as if the telepath had betrayed him.

"I´m sorry." Spencer said and Erik blinked in surprise. The younger man flushed a bit and added. "I didn´t want to bring up bad memories."

Intriguing. Erik didn´t think himself of someone so easily read.

"Bad memories are part of all our lives. There is no point in feeling sorry about them." he almost chastised and was once again surprised, when Spencer bowed his head slightly in both acceptance and agreement. Erik couldn´t point down if he man, despite his age had that many bad memories as well or if he was simply accepting an old man's right to judge life after living for so long. Possibly both.

Looking down at the board, he nodded when Spencer hesitantly reached out towards a piece and looked at him when doing so. Almost as if he wanted permission to touch the precious pieces. At his nod, Dr. Reid started to set up the black pieces in front of him. Erik's lips curved in amusement. The irony of him playing white was not long on him. Many people who weren´t able to think in anything but white and black would think the white, 'good' pieces to be fitting for him.

"You are either underestimating me or you have some false sense of politeness." He commented on being given the slight advance by opening first. Giving up an advance just because it was polite would be foolish but underestimating your enemy even more so.

Spencer looked up. His gaze both kind and almost piercing.

"Sir, you are hardly anyone one should underestimate." Doctor Reid said and Erik felt uncomfortably taken aback and found himself wondering if Spencer was a telepath after all. Then the younger man continued.

"It is agreed that the player maneuvering the white pieces does have an advance. Statistically, he white player earns about 54 percent of the possible points. 38 percent of the games played end with the white player winning, 32 percent end with a draw and only 30 percent are won by the black player."

Erik couldn´t help himself but thinking, that the degree the young man earned might have been in Mathematics. Until Spencer continued.

"There is however the psychological aspect one needs to consider. The majority of players let their strategy be influenced by personal preferences..."

Now Magneto almost felt offended. Did the young man do that on purpose? There was no room to point anything out however, Reid was still talking.

"... dominates the kind of game they play. Their strategies are influenced by what they know best. So, a strategic player, who is strong on defense might benefit by playing the less aggressive black set. Adding to that, the opening move of he white player already can tell an observant opponent a lot about preferred strategies of the-"

He cut himself off, when he noticed Erik´s expression. However, he seemed absolutely obvious to the almost swooning expression on asian boy's face. It was almost amusing to see, the boy obviously had quite a kink for intelligent people. In particular the person in front of him, who seemed to noticed close to everything but the more than noticeable crush of the love stuck teenager.

"Well, someone has to make the first move." Lehnsherr said and took hold of the first piece. He was astonished that the young man seemed to observe the game from both a mathematic as well as a psychological point of view. It didn´t happen often he stumbled upon someone who thought in more than just one point of view. Remembering that the young man would likely read into his first move, Erik hesitated. He could of course use that knowledge and bluff, but then again, with the knowledge of that first move being judged out in the open, who knew if Spencer didn´t take a changed course of action into account as well. Huh, it´s been so long since he had to wonder about things like this.

Well, it couldn´t be helped. Magneto was hardly someone who did not act, so he made his decision and picked up the first of many pieces.

* * *

The deaths of Charles, Scott and Jean had hit the X-Men hard. Very hard. There was no telepath strong enough to maneuver Cerebro. At least not in the manor. Callisto, who might have been able to find someone, had not survived the electrical shock in the battle of Alcatraz and even then, they didn´t trust just anyone with a tool as powerful as that.

Of course they tried to keep things moving, to continue the work he three deceased senior members of their group had been part of. But very slowly and painfully, things started to go downhill. Without Cerebro or Callisto, they were not able to find mutants as easily anymore. Some mutants still came here without any trouble. Some parents were understanding enough to place their children into the school. Some parents were not so understanding, but still send their child or children to the school. Away from their eyes and the eyes of society. This was no different than before.

But then... there were the ones not so lucky. The ones they should have been able to find, before their lives became hell. The ones they had been able to find in time once. Now, they stumbled over newspaper articles with death mutants. Children, teenagers, adults. Jean, no Phoenix, had killed so many so easily, people were even more afraid of mutants than before. The cure was legalized now as a weapon of defense, no matter how flimsy the excuse. But with Leech no longer being a prisoner of the government, reproducing the cure was difficult and the serum was hard do come by. And people became even more afraid.

Then there were those children they found alive. But abused. Terribly threatened and wounded. Some people threatened them like slaves or animals. Some threatened them worse. It was heartbreaking and every time it left Ororo feel wounded and raw on the inside to witness again and again what the so called humanity was capable of. Sometimes, death seemed to be of more mercy than life and sometimes, when finally freed, the victims of so much abuse has chosen to suffer no more. Those were the worst. The young woman who jumped out of that window and deliberately didn´t use her mutilated wings which might have still carried her weight still haunted her. Nightmares were common now. Sometimes, she wondered if Magneto had not been right after all. The thoughts were banished as fast as they came, but they came. It was tiring.

The children who had suffered so much, they were unable to adapt to a life of school and learning. Very soon, they had opened another institute. One that would allow them to recover from the abuse. Both physically and mentally. It was a hospital, at least Ororo and the other senior members called it that. Some simply called it Asylum, because most of the patients needed mental guidance more than physical therapy. Most needed both, but the majority was worse off mentally. When Ororo overheard some students talking about the 'nut-house' and their unwillingness to study along with such mental cases, she wanted to scream at them. But she didn´t. It was not the way to do this.

So calmly, she made a speech before the entire school. She spoke of hard times and acceptance. Of progress and surviving and a better future. It felt hollow, but thankfully, she seemed to have been able to cover up her feelings and do her job. Afterwards, Beast had spoken to her. Praised her for continuing on the path Charles had set. That was, when it broke out of her.

She slumped down on the chair. Exhausted and far too tired, lacking her usual elegance.

"We can´t go on like this, Hank." She said and the silence was more than answer enough. "You´re working yourself to the bone in that hospital. Logan is not himself since he had to kill Je-Phoenix." The Wolverine more than just once had left the manor for extended periods of time. Each time, they wondered if he would come back. Each time, she prayed he would come back. They needed him. There were far too many rescue missions lately and Ororo couldn´t risk her life anymore like she used to. Not with the responsibility of being the schools headmistress. "Most of the staff... Hank, we need help." Most of the staff were barely adults as well. Having graduaded from this school, they had not visited any universities and couldn´t teach any advanced topics. The older classes tutored the younger ones. There was no empath or telepath able to teach those with such talents as their own. Of course she or Hank could talk about telepathy or empathy, but it was not the same. Bobby was not able to pull off being a staff member, he was to much of a buddy for the students. However, to his credit, he seemed to improve. But it was still at least a year until she could name him a proper teacher. Rogue as a teacher was... a catastrophe was the best description. To much temper, not enough patience. Having given up her power was not something which earned her a lot of respect among mutants. But the young woman was willing to help, although sometimes Storm wondered why. Peter did well, at least when it came to sport lessons and some talent experiments. Being able to turn your body into steel did a lot of good when a telekinet accidently threw a statue your way.

If Bobby was to much of a student to pull of the staff member, then for Kitty a new word needed to be found. She was far to... soft. The majority of students, especially the boys, held no respect for her. No matter her experience or Ororo´s talks with them. However, she did provide an excellent mix of teacher and kindergartener, so she took care of the very young children and also helped Hank in the hospital.

It worked more or less. Unfortunately, the empathis was on the less and not the more. The worst was, they were horribly understaffed and overworked. Even if one did not take the missions into consideration.

"What do you suggest?" McCoy said, as he sat down heavily on the couch. He looked just as tired as she felt. Considered the blue fur which made reading expressions on his face difficult, this was not a good sight. "We can hardly put job offerings into the newspaper."

"No." Storm agreed and leaned back. Out of the window, she could see the tombstones. Often visited graves. It wasn´t unusual to see someone stand in front of them, but the figure in front of Scott´s... Instantly, she sat up again. "Alex!" The woman cried out and despite her exhaustion, dashed out of the office. They all had wondered what had happened to Havoc and none of them had known how to contact him. Now the very same young man they had searched for so long was standing before his brother´s grave.

* * *

The sun was setting down and Erik Lehnsherr was in a mood so rare for him, some people actually avoided him as he made his way towards the not quite small house he had bought. Having been the leader of an organization like the brotherhood of mutants had left him with enough money to buy a place far into the woods and secluded from human society. Enough to buy him his way into a new identity. Even before his time as the brotherhood leader, he had raided enough former Nazi hide outs in his search for Shawn to be well off; he could afford what he needed and more. Although he had a car, he went for a walk into the city every day. It calmed him, helped him in his meditation. On his way into the city, people tended to avoid him because of his permanent scowling face. Today, they avoided him because of the small smile. Barely there, but so strange in the eyes of the people he passed, they still noticed it instantly. And even went so far as to change to the other side of the road. Because that smile was not a nice one. It showed a hint of the man who despised humans and thought himself superior. It showed a hint of Magneto.

Maybe the sensitive ones even noticed the faint presence of power. Again, barely there, but his powers had not died down anymore. During the game against Doctor Reid, he had checked again and again. The feeling of the magnetic fields surrounding him was still there. The damn cure was not perfect. Not the absolute distinction of the next evolutionary step. He was recovering.

Sadly, he had not been able to finish his game with Spencer. The young man had received an urged call and excused himself. Frankly, Erik didn´t mind it much. The constant checking on his powers had been a distraction. A slight one, but enough for his opponent. Erik knew he most likely would have lost that game. Still, he must have presented enough of a challenge for Reid to offer picking up where they left once the young man returned. He didn´t take a smart phone picture of the positions the pieces were in, but still promised he would remember the positions and even their times of the clock the Asian boy eagerly had started the moment the game began. Again, Magneto had found himself surprised and quite sure by now that he young man had to be above average intelligent. He still declined to pick off where they left. He had the right to do so. Although he was quite sure Spencer really would remember the pieces, he had no desire to play a losing game. Instead, he simply offered another game the next time they saw each other. The young man was intriguing and as long as his powers were not back to the point he could use them properly again, playing with Spencer seemed a worthy way to spend the time he didn´t use on practicing.

Speaking of practicing. When Erik reached his house, he instantly went to work. The first thing he did was unlock the door. It took some concentration, but the metal locks slowly slid away to let him in. He hadn´t been able to do that yet. Not since he bought that house, not since the cure. However, it came at a price. Already he could feel his talent fading back into it´s dormant state again. But he didn´t let that discourage him. It was a step into the right direction and there was progress. There would be more progress, he just needed to be patient.

* * *

"Non." The accent became more prominent when the man was angry. And obviously, he was.

"I´m not taking no for an answer." Logan informed him and followed the Cajun. The man shot him a glare, all the usual nonchalance gone by now.

"F` days y´ve been following Remy. Get lost, casse-pieds, t' answer is still 'non' and will stay 'non'." Back to talking about himself in third person. LeBeau really must be agitated. After three days of constant following and being unable to do anything about it, Logan couldn´t even blame him. Remy had tried to dodge him, but Wolverine followed his scent quite literally like a tracking dog. The thief, unable to follow his occupation or do anything without being followed, had enough of it. By now, the man seemed beyond pissed. Well, it´s not as if he could kill him so when Gambit walked on, Wolverine followed him. Hissing in anger, Remy turned around. "Wha´ part of _NON _d-"

The hit came as a surprise and knocked him over without further add. At least Logan was kind enough to not let him hit the ground. Catching the man, he shouldered the motionless body and made his way back to the car.

Three days the feral mutant had followed the thief and asked him to come with him. No one could claim he had not tried the patient approach.

Tbc.

* * *

Feedback is appreciated ;) Cu next chapter


	2. Chapter 2

_I´m happy to see some people seem to like this story or at least seem interested in it. Thank you! Any questions/reviews will be answered/replied at the end of the chapter ^^_

_I also further planned the plot and hope, no one will be offended with what I plan. I will add warnings as the story goes on but for everyone who doesn´t care for sexual harassment (not sure how far this will go yet), violence, bodily harm and such things, this is not for you ._. I have a roughly done plot, but details may change. Including warnings, so if you´re not open for that, I´m sorry ^^° _

_Again, this is unbeta'ed. _

_Now, have fun reading :D _

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Logan growled as he watched Remy LeBeau do one of the things he did best.

Flirt.

Despite the seriously pissed of mood the Cajun had been in when he woke up and the headache he had complained about, the man seemed to have a surprisingly well developed ability to bounce back and make the best out of the situation he found himself in. In this case, he found himself in a comfortable furnished room with a beautiful, dark skinned woman. Who obviously was quite the wildcat judging by the way she chewed Logan out. Another very pretty young woman appeared to have taken on the job of a nurse, but wasn´t paying him much attention at the moment. Instead, she warily observed the enraged Storm. The bickering only stopped when they noticed Remy being awake.

The Wolverine was tempted to knock the thief out again even though Remy somehow even kind of defended him. In a rather strange way. How else does one interpret the assurance, that 'the kidnapping' was not that much of a deal, considering the company it brought Remy. Of course he meant the beauty leading the school and his pretty nurse, not Logan. At least, Logan thought Remy meant Ororo and Kitty. The Cajun had sent a rather sly grin his way when he assured his wellbeing and since then the feral had been wary of the other man´s sexuality.

Already Logan regretted his decision to bring Remy LeBeau here. The man smelled of trouble. No matter how fascinating a view it was to see both woman being charmed so easily. Kitty had been blushing within three minutes of Remy opening his mouth and Storm... well, her scowl had faded and she was actually teasing back. Which, considering this was Storm, was an accomplishment on itself. The woman sometimes might switch her moods as fast as the weather changed - literally - but she usually was rather levelheaded as well. This was disturbing.

But then he noticed it again. Logan saw the Cajun warily glancing his way ever so often. The more he became agitated, the more Remy seemed on edge. It was not something visible, the thief appeared to be very skilled in hiding his bodys reactions, but the feral noticed anyway. Noticed the tense muscles and the fact that his posture, although it appeared casual, was suited for a fast switch into a defensive position. Although Logan couldn´t care less about LeBeau´sability to charm himself into every females good graces, the constant awareness and caution was something he as a warrior could appreciate. However, it was only indirectly connected to the reason he brought Remy here.

"He´s an empath." The man said and everyone else fell silent at this. "And a thief. And he´s able to blow things up."

Three sets of eyes starred at him. Obviously neither mutant knew what to say to that. Logan growled. Some practical thinking would make things easier. Ororo seemed to be the first to get it. Her eyes went wide.

"You-" she stopped herself and closed her eyes for a moment. Lifting her hands, she started to massage her temples. "Please tell me you did not just kidnap a thief, as you just called him, to have him join the X-Men and teach children." By the end her voice grew louder.

"What?" Kitty blinked and looked over to Remy, who at the same time shouted out a "Quoi?". This seemed to throw the Cajun off enough for him to stare at Logan as if he was questioning his sanity. Which he probably was."Moi?" He snorted."C'est pure folie! Y' are crazy!"

* * *

Erik felt torn.

He had tried to recapture the feeling he had in the park when his talent had come back, but had been unable to do so. Although he felt like there was a bit… more to his dormant talent, it had tuned down to a level he could no longer access anymore again.

It was frustrating.

Adding to that came the recent feeling of being followed. It had nothing to do with his mutation and everything to do with the life lived as Shawn´s pawn.

Life since the curse had become difficult for Erik. Once a leader, he was now an outlawed. Being on the losing side of a war, he was hunted by both parties. All three parties, actually. Even though the X-Men didn´t seem eager to hunt him, the mutants sympathizing with Charles´ course saw him as one of the main reasons for the hatred against their kind. Seeing the resulting admission of the cure as a weapon, mutants formerly part of his own brotherhood cursed the results of what they now called an act of a mad dictator. And the government… well, there is hardly any love lost here. They wanted him death before, they still did now. Even though they believed him to be human now, they were eager to judge him for the crimes he committed in their eyes. And they wanted to make sure he didn´t plan for revenge or anything similar mass murdering activities. Foolish this so called cure to be if anything they ever created had been flawless. None of them suspected Magneto may rise again.

Something he did intent to use against them. Already, he had plans.

But until his power was strong enough again, his first priority was survival.

* * *

"Well, he may not be the best role model for the students." Logan admitted.

Remy let out an offended humjust for the sake of it and sent the Wolverine a glare. But considering the fact that he had absolutely no desire to play teacher, he didn´t argue the point.

"He´s rather questionable." Bobby voiced his opinion, but the antipathy could be a result of Remy eyeing Rogue. And vice versa. Thankfully, the former mutant had been called away shortly after they changed locations to the office.

Bobby sent a murderous glare towards the Cajun, who actually had the audacity to wink back and grin smugly. Bobby did a double take and then carefully shifted a bit closer to the desk and away from Remy. The thief smirked predatory and leaned back, obviously enjoying himself.

Yes, definitely questionable sexuality. Clearly, Logan was not the only one thinking that. But he wondered if the Cajun didn´t just do it simply to annoy the most likely heterosexual men. At least he hadn´t flirted with Hank.

still might.

"But…" Wolverine continued, ignoring Bobby. "He´s still an empath and able to fight. He could be useful on missions."

"And convincing parents to let their children come here." Kitty threw in. Everyone turned towards her. The young woman shifted a bit in her seat but didn´t back down but kept her head up. "We all know how hard it is to talk to parents since…" She drifted off.

"Since this whole mutant hysteria broke out." Storm finished and leaned against the desk. Talking to the parents had become a very difficult task indeed. Most of them were reluctant and none of them had the calm and reassuring aura Charles had possessed. Or his telepathy. Having someone there who was able to read people's emotions definitely might come in handy and give them a chance to help more kids. They didn´t want to actually influence people´s emotions, but it could be a guidance towards which approach and course of discussion might be best to convince some of the parents they had encountered.

"And it might be helpful to have someone there who´s able to calm down some patients without having to sedate them." Beast threw in.

"And why should Remy do dat?" The Cajun threw in and once again, silence fell upon the room. It seemed people actually forgot about the thief and Remy appeared adequately offended by it.

"You could return to those guys planning to bash your head into the wall." Logan offered casually and Remy raised one eyebrow at him. Snorting slightly, the Wolverine snapped his claws out. "Well, to their replacements."

"Didn´t you say he could fight? He didn´t even notice them!" Bobby accused and Remy sent him a charming smile.

"Remy did, but why should ´e bot´er, when le chien over t´ere can do t´ work just bien?"

This had Logan growling. But it was not clear if the man was bothered over being called a dog or being used. Most likely it was the first one.

"Can it, you´ve got enough trouble on your heels." Logan said and leant back. "At least, no one´s trying to kill you here." Not yet anyway. If the man continued to flirt with every available and not-available female and maybe male, he might become a target quite quickly.

"Ah, people ´ave been tryingdat for y´rs." Remy said, waving aside the argument along with Alex´s muttered "wonder why." The young Summers had been quietly sitting at the desk so far and it was disturbing to see him so silent. This was the first time he contributed to the conversation and even though it was a snippy remark, it also was relieving to see the young man act more like himself again.

Storm sent a look toward Scott´s brother but it held not the usual warning. She just appeared to observe the boy for a few minutes while Remy continued to talk.

"Dis is no reason f´ Remy to stay." Obviously, Gambit seemed to be in a gambling mood. But Logan had no desire to humor the other mutant.

"So, what´s about the guys trying to follow you around?And getting closer. You moved an awful lot in just a few days." Leaning back, the feral observed the thief. "But you never left Washington for long." He pointed out, much to the surprise of everyone.

"Y´ don´t –" Surprise appeared on the Cajun´s face for a few seconds before he shook his head. "Y´r not exactly up to date, are y´, cheri?"

For the sake of the conversation Logan ignored the endearment at the end and asked the question on almost everyone's mind.

"What do you mean?" He demanded to know.

However, it was not Remy who answered. It was Alex.

"It seems someone´s hunting mutants." He said. "It´s been going on for a few weeks now."

This made the school´s residents straighten up. How could they have missed that? The answer was as easy as it was hurtful. They did their best to continue after their loss. Trying to get the school running, trying to give children a save place. They had noticed some people – mutants – disappearing but they had blamed the increasing hate towards their kind. It had prompted abuse and the legalization of the cure as a weapon. There were so many reasons for mutants to vanish now. Killed by mutant hating groups, 'cured' or hidden away by family, a lot of mutants disappeared these days. None of them had taken such a thing as kidnapping into accounts. But they should have. As pitiful as it sounded, they had been too busy to search for different reasons then the one´s they were aware of.

Storm´s shoulders sank down as if in guilt but she didn´t say anything. Logan only hoped Beast would talk her out of feeling guilty for that as well.

"Strangely enough, it doesn´t happen in Washington." Alex continued and after a moment he swallowed hard. "Scott…. He thought it was Magneto." It was almost painful to watch the boy´s expression when he talked about his brother. "He thought Magneto was using Callisto´s gift to find the mutants and recruit them. But for some reasons there were only very few mutants taken from Washington. We don´t know why."

"Is this where you have been?" Kitty asked quietly and Alex seemed to be lost in thoughts for few seconds. Then, with obvious effort, he pulled himself back together and nodded.

"Scott told me to get there. He claimed I should investigate what´s going on, but…" The young man struggled again, this time only for a moment. "I think he wanted to keep me away from whoever caused the disappearance of mutants. He must have thought Washington to be the safest place. I know he wanted to talk to you about what´s been going on."

Raising his head, he looked around questioning. When he received silence, his eyes sank back onto the desk and his voice suddenly sounded almost toneless. "Guess he didn´t."

"You said people were following him?" Bobby asked and nodded towards Remy.

"Whoever was, they are professionals. I didn´t even see them." Logan said as he lightened a cigar. Without any care for the ban of cigars in this office.

"Then how do you-"

"Smelt them." The feral interrupted. "Just like I smelt him. I followed his scent, but I could smell someone trying to get to him as well. They came pretty close a few times, but he gave them the slip."

"Remy didn´t see them either." LeBeau offered and seemed finally willing to cooperate at least to some point. "But Remy didn´t survive f´ so long w´out his instincts. Knows when s´mones after ´im." After a minute, he added. "And Remy could feel t'eir intention and desire t´ capture moi." With this he actually confirmed Logan´s words when the feral claimed him to be an empath.

"Capture. Not kill." Hank pointed out. However brutal, since they didn´t know what happened to the mutants, they couldn´t be sure which one was better.

"For some reason no one ever came _here_ to kidnap residents either." Logan pointed out. "The school´s safe. And from here we can try to figure out what´s going on with this."

Judging by the look on Storm´s face she was not entirely convinced of that. How could she be, when she didn´t even know about that danger which seemed to roam free outside of the grounds for weeks. And neither did Hank, but most likely both of them would do their best to secure the school as fast as possible. Thankfully, neither of them argued or seemed to project their worries strong enough to pick up on them. At least Remy didn´t call them out on it. Maybe it was just the fact that there really had been no disappearances from the school. Maybe it was the fact that whoever went after them seemed to have gotten quite close to Remy.

Or maybe it was free food and housing and a lot of opportunities to flirt or annoy people.

No matter the reason, the result was the same.

"Remy will stay f´ a while." The Cajun decided. "As long as ´e wants t´. Don't try to keep ´im here against his will." He insisted and when the other mutants appeared almost shocked by his suspicions, he relaxed a bit and nodded again.

Storm was silent for a few seconds, before she nodded as well.

"Let´s try this."

* * *

The next days were spent in a wearisome effort to awaken his talent again. But the patience he once held whenever he stumbled over such a break was gone.

In the evening hours Magneto almost imagined feeling his followers breathe against his neck. No longer able to calm down in his secluded home he fled into the city. His few attempts to meet Dr. Reid at the park had been futile so far, but today his feet didn´t carry him into the park again. Instead, he went to the library even though the opening hours were almost over. Surrounded by the bookshelves he felt himself calm down again. It allowed him to pay much more attention to his environment again.

Scrolling through the shelves, Erik took a deep breath through his nose. The scent of old leather and paper was something he always enjoyed. He especially liked the antique books but they were hidden away in a corner. To his surprise, he found the very same person he had hoped to see in the park in just that corner, holding one book in his hand rather fondly. He didn´t read it, the book was still closed. He didn´t even really look at it. The brown eyes were distant, not seeing the leather cover in front of him but something else.

Carefully, Erik stepped closer and eyed the book. An old, British tome. For a moment Lehnsherr wondered what memory it might have triggered. Seeing the small smile on Spencer´s lips, it must be something enjoyable. He almost regretted to disturb it.

"It´s rare to see young people interested in such old books." He pointed out, intended to keep up the persona of a harmless older man. Even though Spencer had already hinted at seeing through it, there was no point in showing him just how much was hidden behind that facade.

Amusement filled him when Dr. Reid almost dropped the valuable edition. In an act that looked more chaotic than intended, he managed to regain his hold on the thick book. Letting out a relieved sigh, the man finally gave some attention to Erik. Being faced directly with Spencer, Lehnsherr could see just how exhausted and pale the young man appeared. Whatever he had done these past few days, it must have been stressful. Despite that, the young Doctor attempted to smile at him and even almost managed to do it. He really must have a lot of practice in smiling when he didn´t feel like it.

"Good evening, Erik." Spencer greeted politely, before he looked down on the book again. He opened his mouth again, probably to reply to Erik´s earlier words, but then his browns drew together in pain. Spencer hunched and one hand reached for his temple while his eyes fell shut.

For a moment Erik once again thought of a telepath, but he had seen enough telepathic overloads or conversation to realize this was not it. Stepping closer, he reached out and took the book out of Spencer's hand before he really dropped it. The young man swayed dangerously and almost lost his balance. Quickly Lehnsherr took a hold of his elbow and guided the young Doctor towards a seating area. The pain, obviously a headache, appeared to be intense. Reid didn´t even seem to register the movement or direction. He let himself be led to a sitting couch and pushed him down.

"Deep breaths, Spencer." Erik advisedand carefully guided the young Doctor, prompting him to lie down. He could see a librarian approaching, probably to scold them for lying on the furniture, but then he noticed the young woman´s worried expression.

"A headache again?" She asked quietly and Erik simply nodded, filing away the information he just gained.

"I´m afraid so." He answered and watched as the female went to the next window, shutting the curtains close and drowning the thankfully secluded part of the library in shadows. Someone seemed to know – and obviously like - Reid enough to even put up with possible complaints from customers. Even though it didn´t appear likely for other visitors to approach this corner. Then he noticed the emptiness. Ah, closing hours were approaching. The woman´s next words confirmed it.

"Could you keep an eye on him while I close up?" She asked and was obviously relieved over the nod she got as a response. Magneto watched her go but turned back to Reid when he heard a muttered: "I´m fine."

"You aren´t a very skilled liar." Erik replied and Spencer sighed. The young man´s eyes were still closed and Lehnsherr took the opportunity to analyze Reid´s appearance. Dark circles under his eyes. Pale face. Little beams of sweat, from bearing the pain. However, his eyebrows were more relaxed, his eyes no longer shut as tightly as before. While he watched Reid even opened his eyes.

"I´m fine." He repeated. This time in a much stronger tone. "It´s just a headache, I get them-"

"-from time to time?" Magneto interrupted and almost smiled when the young man frowned again. "It seems to happen often enough for the librarian to recognize the occurrence."

This brought a hint of red to the pale cheeks but Spencer didn´t protest again. The clicking of low heels was heard and the librarian returned, carefully balancing a glass of water.

Magneto frowned when he noticed how much Reid´s hand shook as the young man took the glass with a quiet "Thank you." Even though the glass wasn´t filled nearly to the brick he almost spilled the liquid. The fact that the woman didn´t fill it more than that spoke volumes about the occurrence of this as well.

"How did you get here?" Sharon, as her nameplate revealed, asked. When Spencer didn´t answer, she sighed. The silence was clearly answer enough but seeing Erik´s frown, the woman seemed to get the fact that he didn´t know.

"He took the Metro." She explained and the young Doctor almost appeared as if he would pout if it weren´t for his current state of health. Hesitating, Sharon turned towards Erik, but before she even asked, he informed her drily:

"I walked." Which blocked all her attempts to askhim to take care of the younger man. Strange enough, Erik had discovered he´d developed some sympathies towards Reid. But he definitely drew the line by playing Kindergartener for some mere human. He was no caretaker and he surely won´t start to become one now.

Sighing again, Sharon looked back to Spencer. "Is there someone-?" She let her words fade out, the question already obvious. Someone who could pick the young man up.

Spencer sat up and handed her the glass back.

"I´m fine. I´m going home and-" while he talked the man stood up. He didn´t appear very steady on his legs and instinctively Erik reached out and caught Reid´s elbow. The moment he gripped him, the young man almost lost his balance again.

"That´s it. I´ll drive you." Sharon decided and looked to Erik. "If you would stay with him for a while…?" Her eyes drifted towards the shelves as she lost herself in her thoughts. Most likely calculating how long it might take her to finish her work. Then, her eyes returned to the elder man in front of her. "Half an hour?"

Erik´s nod made her sigh in relief and she quickly left.

Spencer sighed but sat down again without complaining. He appeared positively miserable at having someone to take care of him.

Erik was positive the woman was not as enamored by Reid as the boy had been, but obviously the young Doctor was well liked.

For a moment, Erik was tempted to question the young man and try to gain more information on him. He might reveal things he usually won´t while he suffered from his headache. But then again, Erik never has been good at starting mundane small talk. He rather took control of a discussion and directed it as need be. Seeing as Spencer promised a rematch, it was not as if this was the last occasion to do so.

Things quieted down while Reid obviously concentrated on his breathing and fighting down the aftereffects of his migraine. Returning to his calm state as well and with no need for conversation, there was nothing better for Erik to do than try and see if he could get hold of his talent. He almost mirrored Reid's balance-losing act, when he could feel the heavy steal stairrail. A rail he couldn´t even _see_. The heavy doorknobs, the joints holding the window could even feel the paperclips on the desk at the entrance.

It felt as if the cure had never hit him.

His talent was there. Within reach and so very easily accessible.

A moan brought him out of his euphoria. He looked over to Spencer, who had once again reached for his temple. Clearly, the pain had intensified.

For a moment Erik's breath mind went numb.

It couldn´t be, could it?

He needed to-

Reaching a hand towards the young man, Erik tried to hold on to his talent.

"There, all done!" Sharon´s voice interrupted. "Thank you for watch- oh dear, it´s worse again, isn´t it?"

"Apparently." Erik answered while his eyes didn´t leave Reid's face.

"Maybe I should drive you to the hospital." Sharon offered, while she stepped closer to the Doctor and helped him to stand up. Even though he was rather skinny, she swayed a bit. It spoke volumes about just how much weight she had to support in order for him to stand up.

"I´ll be fine." Spencer assured her and when the woman frowned, he hesitantly added. "I just some sleep."

"And you call in sick tomorrow and take a day off." She said and clearly reluctantly, he gave a very small nod.

Silently Erik followed them and the three of them left the library through some back door. Keeping up with the pair, his eyes didn´t leave the taller of the two frames. Observed, as they stopped at a parking space and watched as Spencer settled down in the passenger seat of a rather old Ford. He could tell just how old each part of the vehicle was and would have found amusement in the fact that some parts must be older than their owner knew them to be if it weren´t for his mind being filled with just one thought.

Only when the Ford left his field of vision did he register how secluded the parking lot was. And only then did he notice that he was not alone.

A vicious snarl was the only warning before his attacker charged at him.

Tbc.

* * *

_So, feel free to tell me what you think ;-) _

_Cu next chapter, _

_yAnWa_

**_Review-Replies: _**

_**Guest**__: ^^ The fandom really is not as appreciated as it should be, but what better way to change that than adding to it ^.~ I´ve only became interested in this Crossover while reading as well XD I´m happy to see you liked the introduction :D _

_Abuse of commas… noted ^^ I tried to reduce them this chapter and hopefully, they are not as bothering any more. Thank you for the note :D _

_**Kris**__: Thank you^^ I hope you liked that chapter as well!_

_**Noobz40**__: Hopefully, the second chapter was interesting as well? I´d be glad if you let me know what you think ^^_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:**_Damn those plot bunnies . Okay, according to them, this needs to happen after Maeve, so… I need to put Blake in it and move the events so after her death ._. It just fit´s better into the plot u.u _

_Enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter 3**

There was no better time for his powers to return than now. Magneto stopped the ambush when his talent latched onto the Adamantium coated skeleton of his attacker. Victor Creed let out a furious snarl. His hands, metal claws extended, twitched. But he couldn´t do much more than twitch as he was held within the magnetic field manipulated by the man in front of him.

"Sabretooth." Erik said drily. The beast in front of him snarled and attempted to break through his control. Magneto could feel his talent being strained, draining far more of his strength than it once had. Although it exhausted him much faster than before, it was working and it just saved his life. needed to tie this up fast. The more he stressed his talent, the more he could feel it slipping from his hands.

But that was not something Creed needed to know. Thankfully, the feral had returned enough to his sense to notice something.

"Your power is working." The man snarled and Magneto offered him a thin and cold smile.

"How is your power working? I know you´ve been hit by the cure!" Sabretooth demanded to know.

Erik could feel himself slipping, his grip on his talent loosening and needing to keep the appearance, he lowered the man to the ground. Not sure if he would be able to keep him from attacking again, Erik didn´t appreciate being forced to release this dangerous mutant. On the outside, he kept his cool and portrait the generous superior who allowed the superior to move again.

"And let humans overpower the mutant race?" Erik sneered. All the while his mind was working at rapid speed. Assessing, planning, evaluating. It all depended on one variable, one thought. On the possibility that the conclusion he had come to was right. It needed to be. If he was wrong, he was as good as death.

"I am already planning a counterstrike. Now is the moment those fools feel like they are superior to us. But the time to strike back is close." He carefully assessed the feral in front of him. Creed was surprisingly silent, which was a good thing. It showed how much contemplation he put into Erik´s words. Maybe, the mutant won´t kill him after all. Erik knew the obvious display of power was the only reason he was still alive. The only reason Victor was listening at all. If there was one thing being able to reach into that thick head, it was power. Strength. Creed won´t tolerate any weaknesses so even though he knew it was risky, he once again summoned his talent.

The nearest lamp post broke in two. Slowly, the upper part turned until the sharp edges of the broken metal were pointing at Creed.

It took all of Erik´s self-control to not sweat and keep his hands and voice steady.

"You thought you could hunt me down. Take some revenge I assume." He said and Creeds eyes shifted towards the post. A snarl formed on his lips and the animalistic eyes narrowed, but he didn´t attempt to run or attack again. The memory of being held into place was still fresh. He didn´t answer, but Magneto knew he was right.

As part of the brotherhood, Creed has been placed below Magneto. But he was so very animalistic, he won´t accept a weak leader and a human Erik was just that. Sabretooth probably also blamed him for the failed attack at Alkatraz and being the sadist he was, he wouldn´t have let Lehnsherr escape.

Now, things were different and Erik already knew he had won before he asked the question.

"Are you still part of the Brotherhood of Mutants, Creed?" A thin smile curved his lips. "Then I have a mission for you."

* * *

Logan had not expected to actually become rather fond of Remy LeBeau. In fact, he had expected the Cajun to be an annoying pain in the back. He even expected Remy to attempt and become _literally_ a pain in the ass for some people when he noticed the man actually seriously flirted with males as well as females.

But then, it was just that. Easy flirting.

It was astonishing how playful and enjoyable people often acted around the Cajun. One of the reasons could be that the thief didn´t actually take someone into his bed, at least not without making it absolutely clear that this was just for a bit of fun and nothing more. It was surprisingly fair and again, not something Logan had expected. Having followed Remy around in Washington before he simply knocked the man out, Logan was convinced the thief had spent some years on the streets. For someone who knew what to look for, it was… not exactly obvious, but noticeable. The way Remytalked, the phrases he used. It´s like a completely separate language. One could learn a language, even speak it fluently. But there was still a difference to the way a native speaker spoke.

And Remy spoke the language of the streets far too well to have simply learned it. He had lived it. And this brought Logan back to his earlier thoughts. Remy was a thief and someone who most likely grew up on the streets. People like him were rarely fair. Usually, because they learned very early that fairness was a luxury you could neither expect to receive or afford to offer.

On the streets, surviving often meant using every advance you can get. Even if it was at the cost of someone else. Well, someone who was not protected by the rather complex codex of rules and loyalties and depts. Another thing one couldn´t learn from the outside.

"Attention, _cher_." The very same Cajun who had just occupied his thoughts brought him back to reality.

The bullet hitting the wall next to his head seconded snarled and stepped into the way of another bullet as he pushed Remy to the side. The picklock was still stuck, but Logan ignored it. While the bulled was arleady being pushed out of his regenerating body, he extended just one of his claws. The Wolverine shoved the single blade between the door and it´s frame. Just a few inches above he locking bold. Within seconds, the bold was cut in two. One part remained in the door, but the part within the frame fell out when the door swung open.

Remy raised one eyebrow while he looked at the extended claw – the middle one. Logan snorted and even pulled the door open for the Cajun. Who smirked and entered the building with a purred: "Does not make Remy de _femme_ in this relationship, _cher_."

Just why did Logan get this feeling he was predictable so often around Remy? He became aware that he once again had done the dirty work for someone who was perfectly able to do it himself. And he had also walked into right another trap and offered himself up for teasing.

The various chuckles coming from the intercom destroyed all his hope of getting out of it.

"There ain´t no relationship, bub." He growled and questioned his own mental state. He couldn´t even blame having been drunk when he decided to bring LeBeau here.

"Could you guys please discuss the details of your love life when this is done?" Storm´s voice carried a hint of amusement, which had been very unusual before Remy joined them but was not a regular occurrence.

Stepping inside the building, Logan bristled at the term 'love life'. And did it again, when Remy actually winked at was just a training session. But just in this moment, Logan felt as if it was going to be a really long day.

When Alex started to point out his suspicions of who might be the 'femme' in their 'relationship', he knew his instincts were right.

A really, really long day.

* * *

His success depended on three conditions.

First step, he needed to test his theory. Should his suspicion prof to be valid, he would need someone to accomplish the second step. As for the third condition, he needed to pull of step one and two without anyone finding out what was going on.

There was however one major problem with this. Erik didn´t trust anyone.

He certainly didn´t trust Sabretooth. The man was predictable to a certain degree and therefore, it was easier to manipulate him. However, the fact that Creed was only predicable to a certain degree left a part of him completely unpredictable. A mixture of both was what applied to this situation.

Erik was sure, if Creed knew what was going on and what it was Erik suspected, he would take advance of it. How he would do that, however, was the unpredictable part. Creed could be surprisingly creative when he wanted to be and no matter what he would do, it would not end well for Erik.

Then there was Emma. Again, not someone he could trust. It might appear that their goals were the same, but Erik refused to plan because of appearance alone. He couldn´t be sure of her goals as long as he was couldn´t offer her something in exchange for her loyalty. Either a way to archive her goals, preferably the same as his, or something there was the fact that Emma was a telepath, which made her even more of a risk than Sabretooth. Actually, that couldn´t even be called a risk anymore. Involving Emma before he had a means to keep her out of his head was a lot like Russian roulette with a weapon with only one _empty_ chamber.

There was however one person who might be able to complete step one and two. Another risky plan that could cost him his life, but considered the circumstances and everything he knew so far…

Erik sighed. He was never one to attemptcommitting suicide. Still, it was the only plan which actually might work.

* * *

"Reid." Hotch's voice broke Spencer out of his thoughts. The young man looked up from the file he wasn´t reading but staring at as his mind was obviously somewhere else. The best indication for that was the fact that he had not turned the pages for nearly five minutes.

When Spencer looked at Agent Hotchner, he found the unit chief waiting for him in front of his office, clearly expecting him to join him. Frowning, the youngest member of the team stood up and walked over. Both men went into the office and without even being told, Reid closed the door. The fact that Hotch had called him into the office was enough of a notice to know that this was work related and more so, something to be discussed among the both of them. For a moment, Spencer wondered if this was related to his decreasing performance. He was quite sure they would blame it on him grieving over the loss of Maeve. Not eager to discuss his returning headaches and certainly not eager to discuss their cause, Spencer sat down in front of Hotch's desk and did his best to appear professional. Or as professional as he usually portrait himself. It wouldn´t do to overdo it, he was sitting in front of a profiler after all.

"You´ve been requested for an interview." Hotchner started while he opened a file on his desk. Instantly, Spencer wondered why Hotch called him into his office for that. It was nothing out of ordinary. Then the superior Agent handed him the file and it only took him a few moments to process the information on the first page.

Trying to not let the panic be seen on his face, Reid looked up.

"Hotch-" he started, but was interrupted instantly.

"It has to be you." Aaron said. "She refuses anyone else." He paused, but then added: "Since her initial interview, no one had managed to get her to talk. And I won´t lie to you, a lot of people are very interested in hearing her talk. Not only scientists and psychologists."

It was more than just a slight hint at the political involvement. Spencer was silent for a moment, his mind desperately searching for a way out. Out of his mind came the one, dominating thought.

"I can´t." Reid said, almost desperate.

A resigned sigh was his first answer. Then Hotch continued.

"Reid… I know you avoided interviewing… her kind… in the past. And I don´t blame you. But this," He paused again. "I have no say in the matter." Agent Hotchner frowned, when he saw the young Doctor biting his lips in thought. "And don´t think of being sick on that day or having a family emergency. They will move the appointment and check your excuse, but in the end, you will have to do it."

Spencer´s gaze returned to his superior's dark eyes. Maybe he should just tell him.

"Hotch-"

"No." Hotchner said, switching into his 'supervisory special Agent and teamleader mode'. His voice and gaze both hardened. "I know you probably have all the laws memorized and most likely, you will find a way out of this. But trust me. If you don´t do it, you won´t stay part of the bureau." Then his eyes softened a bit. "I´m sorry."

That made Reid close his mouth. Letting out the breath he didn´t realize he was holding, the young Doctor averted his eyes. Mentally, he scolded himself for even considering telling Hotch the whole story. He should know better than to act on panic and impulse.

Hotch, probably taking his silent as a defeat closed the discussing with the words most likely dooming his younger colleague.

"Tomorrow, you will interview Raven Darkholme."

* * *

The crash came, when Rogue broke up with Bobby. No longer able to stand him getting any closer to Kitty, she decided that why not take up another offer? Why deny herself the attention of an attractive, empathic man?

Sure, he flirted a lot. But Rogue was positive that even though Remy flirted and teased, he was not the type to betray her like Bobby did. There simply was no way that it was mere friendship between Bobby and Kitty. She was no fool; she had seen the way they looked at each other. And she had seen the way Bobby, Kitty and everybody else had looked at _her_ after she took the cure. She was an outcast among mutants for wanting to be normal and an outcast among those who called themselves normal for having been a mutant and still thinking like a mutant.

But Remy… he understood. The empath understood how important human contact was. How much she craved for intimacy. How much she had lost, has been taken away from her. By humans, by other mutants and by her mutation.

He was her best chance at happiness and she damn well was taking it.

* * *

"What now?" Creed asked, after he returned from the mission given to him.

Erik looked up. It would do so well to give a little demonstration of his powers to keep Victor in line. Unfortunately, he now was quite sure it won´t work. Trying to see this as something good, as yet another point in favor of his theory, Erik leant back into a position that was one risk in itself. But taking such a leisure position and being so obviously careless was yet another way to manipulate Sabretooth. After all, the feral has to assume Erik won´t do that if he were not sure of his powers being able to stop any attack at any time. Not demonstrating his power now appeared as if he simply couldn't be bothered to do so for Victory sake alone instead of being unable to do it.

"Patience." He drawled. Looking over to the teenager who had been so eager to answer a few questions, he smiled. It was not a comforting sight. Of all the occupations, he would never have guessed Doctor Reid to be an Agent of the Federal Bureau. The man might not have talked about his joy while he visited the park, but his enamored groupie has obviously done his homework. And seemed to be quite skilled in researching his favorite chess opponent.

"What´s with the brat?" Sabretooth growled.

What, indeed. The boy would remember Erik asking questions about Reid. If someone thought of asking him, the boy could point them into Erik´s direction. However, the chances of someone asking him were slim. If the boy disappeared, someone might investigate and find out he had played chess with the boy. But so had a lot of other people.

Erik thought about the librarian. She also might remember him. If both she and the boy were to give statements and pointing out his interest in Doctor Reid…

Quite a pity, but then again, it was only a human.

"Take care of him." He ordered.

* * *

Despite Hotch´s words, Spencer was really tempted to pull the 'sick' card. The splitting headache he suffered after waking up surely would suffice. But then again, that was not something he had wanted to point out as well. Thankfully, the migraine had reduced to a slight throbbing behind his temples which he could easily ignore. Any other day, it would not have worried him, but today he could have done without even that slight distraction.

Bracing himself, Spencer tried to pull himself together. He needed to do this. It would be fine.

Spencer Reid was aware of how misleading disappearance could be and he had seen pictures of Raven Darkholme before and after she had been cured. But when he entered the room, he was still almost overwhelmed.

She was beautiful. Really beautiful. But that was not what made Spencer pause. Although Raven was no longer a mutant, she had a history. And she carried herself in the same way people of power did. Her presence, her charisma was both mesmerizing and frightening. Many people expected her to become bitter or even broken over the loss of her powers, but here he saw none of that. This was a woman who, even though she no longer was a mutant, still knew of the power of appearance. Knew how much body language could manipulate the observer. She knew how to put herself over anyone in the room, even when being held prisoner. Raven still projected so much danger.

This was not going to be easy.

Her lips curled into a greeting smile. It didn´t reach her eyes. They were still cold, calculating.

"Doctor Reid, I assume?" The woman all but purred. It made him feel like the mouse in front of the cat.

"Miss Darkholme." Spencer replied politely.

"Please… call me Mystique." Was the casual answer. Given in tone anyone might use when offering their first name instead of their given name.

For a moment Reid wondered what might have become of her, if the Government had threatened mutants differently. She had so much knowledge. She knew the effect the lightest changes in ones tone had on the listener. She knew the meaning of body language and how to use it. So very able to observe her opponents behavior and analyze it, Raven was an outstanding manipulator. She would have made a great profiler. Or interrogator.

He almost shuddered.

Sitting down in front of her, Reid forced himself to not avoid her eyes or let it be shown how uncomfortable he was. Of course his headache had to return. Of course he came prepared. Her actions – more or less accurately documented – spoke volumes of her personality.

That´s why he knew how useless him being here was.

It´s not that she was purely the calculating, cold hearted bitch she was described at. On the contrary, she was very passionate about everything she did. So much that she won´t let things stand in her way, no matter what. Every single thing she did was based on something which happening to her. As it did with many people who sat in that very chair she was not sitting in. Often, the events which set people´s course in life happened early. In childhood or in their teenage years. The fundaments of their behavior, which also lead to the way they reacted to various triggers later in their life.

The government and therefore the FBI didn´t know much of her past, of her time before she became a wanted criminal. Of the way she lived through childhood, how she experienced it. That was the part Spencer would have listened to. But also something he knew he would not hear today. She was too guarded; to close up to let him in. And too much in denial of the person she had been before she became Mystique.

Which lead him to the question of why they were here and why had she demanded him and no one else. The feeling of dread settled in his stomach as he mentally shifted through the possible answers. None of which were good.

"Why are we here?" He demanded to know, suddenly feeling the need to know. "You don´t want to talk, so why did you request an interview?"

Raven laid her head to the side and smiled her cold smile.

"Of course I want to talk." She said and leaned forward. Instinctively, he leant back. The smile on her face widened a bit and gained a predatory quality. "Afraid, Doctor?" She challenged. "You are aware that I´m just a mere woman now, are you? Do females scare you so much?"

"You are not 'a mere woman'." Too defensive. Mentally, Spencer cursed himself. Straightening himself, he looked into her calculating eyes. "What is it you want to talk about?"

Obviously, she had not expected her attempts to be shut off quite so blatantly. Leaning back, her smile returned to the polite, but meaningless version she had used when she greeted him. "Why, Spencer. Thank you. You make the loveliest compliments."

She knew his first name.

"I´d prefer Doctor Reid or Agent Reid." He informed her and knew that his 'strategy' was going to be questioned later. He was sure some people were going to accuse him of corrupting the interview. But he couldn´t give her anything. "Why did you ask for me?"

The headache was back again when Raven leaned forward again.

"I recently had a visitor." She said, as if she was sharing some juicy gossip with a friend.

Spencer's heard skipped a beat. There were no visitors listened. She had to be lying but there were absolutely no indications for that. But Raven knew how to stop her body from betraying a lie, so there was no way to be sure. No way to trust anything she said.

Still, the moment she said those words, he knew he was in trouble. Because just behind the one way window to this left, some high positioned politician would demand to know what and more importantly who she was talking about. He was sure there was already someone desperately running toward security to try and find out if she had spoken the truth.

However, Spencer refused to play her game. He kept quiet.

Her features didn´t betray her, but her eyes burned into his.

"We had a little chat." She continued, slowly.

Sure enough, when Spencer remained silent, the door opened and a voice called out his name. He didn´t take his eyes off her when he stood up. Still, not a single muscle in her face moved. But a victorious gleam had appeared in her eyes.

His head ached, when he left the room and it was bound to become worse when he found himself confronted with demands.

"We need to find out who she has been in contact with." The voice of the man, who had not bothered to introduce himself, was icy and spoke up the moment the door felt close.

"Why would she even tell us this? It has to be a trap." Another man argued. Also nameless.

"Maybe she expects some reward? Maybe she wants to make a deal." This time a woman.

Spencer agreed. This was a trap. Just not the kind of trap they thought it to be. He needed to leave.

Turning towards the exit, Reid was stopped when one of the heavy build man who so far stood besides the door now stepped in front of it.

"Doctor Reid!" This was the first man. "Where do you think you are going? This is not over yet."

It should be. The sooner the better.

"Sir, with all due respect-" Reid began, already aware that this had to be someone higher up the chain of command. They didn´t even let him state an argument, as the woman interrupted him.

"You haven´t even talked to her yet." She frowned. "And already you want to leave. That is a rather poor performance, Doctor."

Didn´t they see just how easily they are been manipulated?

Biting his lips, Spencer forced himself to answer.

"She´s not here to talk, Ma´am."

"And you know that after three minutes and how many sentences?" The first man threw his arms into the air in a gesture of fake adoration. "You profilers are even better than I thought! I will have to report this astonishing skill!"

Damn, already he was pulling the team in. The plural 'profilers' was not picked by coincidence.

Now, the second man lifted his arm in a calming gesture.

"Now, now. Let´s not overreact."

Really? Did that fool just try and pull of the good-cop, bad-cop strategy? Spencer wondered just how they had managed to get into any position which allowed them to witnesses this interview.

"No matter her motives, as long as she talks we will gain _some_ information." The second man continued in a soothing voice. The woman snorted and the first man frowned.

According to their little play however, the first man nodded after an overdone act of thinking this over.

"Doctor Reid." When the man addressed him, Reid knew this was going to be a disaster. "She is in possession of valuable information about the rebellious mutant group, the Brotherhood of Mutants. And she is also cured. Which puts us into an advance position."

Spencer wondered if they really believed that.

"We expect from you to put in a minimum of effort to gain this information." The man said with a sneer. "Even if she is lying about her visitor, anything she says can be used."

Sighing, Spencer looked back to Raven while wishing for an Aspirin. They won´t get information out of her. But with the treat of reporting against the BAU-Team, he didn´t have a choice if he didn´t want his friends to suffer the consequences.

When he returned to the interrogation room, he knew it was not going to end well. And there was nothing he could do to prevent the chaos from happening.

This time, when he entered the room again, Mystiques smile was more genuine.

* * *

Guard Mason Brewster was disappointed. The moment the prisoner mentioned a visitor, he was sent to find any indications pointing towards her telling the truth.

Banned from the interview he had been looking forward to see, he muttered nasty curses as he went over to the cells. Just like any other day, he went past many security doors. The moment he reached his colleagues, they started to search together. Two went though the video footage, while the rest walked the ground. Ten minutes later he was convinced that he did not only miss the interview, but also had done the whole check up in vain. There was absolutely nothing wrong. She had lied.

Pissed off, Mason changed his route and walked towards the dogs kennel. Just to be sure, he wanted to walk the grounds again and take one with him.

When he reached the fence, he blinked.

"What the-" He cut himself off and starred at the dogs.

The highly trained animals were… cowering in the corner. Tails between their legs and clearly afraid. Shaking his head in disbelief, Guard Brewster looked through the rest of the area. And grew pale when he saw the claw marks. To large, to deeply carved into the concrete to belong to the dogs.

Damn.

It was ten minutes later, when the news of Raven Darkholme's escape reached him.

Tbc.

* * *

Okay, I know it´s a bit of a mean place to stop but I couldn´t help myself ^^° My only excuse: it´s 3:23 am ._.

Let me know what you think?

Yanwa

**Review-Replies:**

Noobz40: Glad you see you like the characterization ^^ I´ll try to get them right and hearing you like them is like getting some double chocolate cookies :D Thank you!

143badgirl: Thank you for the review ^^ Since I moved the story line a bit, this takes place after Reid´s thirtieth birthday. Therefore, his knowledge is much more expanded than it is in the early seasons of CM. I think some French won´t be bad, but I´m open for any suggestions :) As for his powers: hints have already been dropped ^.~ Yes, there will be powers.

When will he meet Remy… good question ^^° Since this is based on the movies, I need to build up a few things and this story will be a longer one as well so it might take a bit. I´ll try not to take too long ._. Can´t have you get bored ^^° Also, I´m just as eager to get those two together as probably anyone here XD Until then, I try to make the plot interesting so you won´t waste your time here ^^


	4. Chapter 4

**AN**: _Still unbeta'ed and obviously, not really interesting._. I hope the big revelation this chapter might peak your interest again and wish you fun reading ^^_

* * *

**Chapter 4**

„This is a disaster!" The enraged voice echoed through the room. The sheer volume was alone to make Erin Strauss nervous, but the anger was enough to make her fear the worst.

"Sir, we-" Her attempts at soothing were instantly squashed.

"This will cost you! You sent that fool in and look what´s happened!" He hissed at her.

"With all due respect." Agent Hotchner's cool voice managed what Strauss had not accomplished. Or maybe it was just his words that did it. His next sentence made the room grow death silent. "I don´t think it´s appropriate to misplace the blame on my agent."

Everyone stared at the former prosecutor.

Aaron Hotchner´s face might as well be made out of marble. It was unmoving, unforgivable and unreadable. His eyes, however, were a completely different thing. They were dark, burning and the intensity of his gaze made even that man hesitate. Even if just for a moment. Then he caught himself.

"Are you implying it might be placed someone else?" The middle aged man said darkly and his eyes narrowed. "Please, Agent, indulge me on who you thing might be held responsible for this."

Hotchner returned the man´s stare, not backing down the slightest. But the one who took the word was not him. Instead, Rossi´s calm voice took control of the discussion.

"That is an interesting question, Sir." The Italian said and looked at the screen. "But we´re not short on those here, are we?" Rossi leant back in his chair and folded his hands in front of him, looking for all the world cared like he was a middle aged man about to talk about the weather. "I´d like to ask a few myself. Beginning with the one of how no one noticed Miss Darkholme receiving any visitors. Or her smuggling in substances into the interrogation room."

The Agents observing gaze looked to the Screen. Yet again, he could witness the woman throwing some kind of powder into Reid´s face. He watched, as the young Doctor stumbled back, reaching for his face but his hands were grasped and he was jerked forward. With a strength no woman should possess, Raven pulled him over the table and in front of her to guard herself against the Agents running through the door.

Rossi starred at his colleagues face as the man clearly struggled against losing his consciousness. It was a fascinating view to see Raven´s form shift into that of one of the armed men in front of her. Someone better suited to keep up the weight of a man, even though no one doubted her strength to do it in either form. But one could see the way it affected the Agents. How they subconsciously shifted and even lowered their weapons a bit. Not comfortable with pointing a weapon at one of their own. Theoretically, they knew it was not their colleague. Practically, their eyes told them different. It was only one minute later, when the cameras connection broke down.

"And why no one noticed her abilities still being there." Rossi added.

The man in charge finally stopped his starring battle with Hotch and turned to yet another person in the room.

"I´d like to know that as well. I thought that damn cure was working for sure!"

The rumbled white coat practically screamed scientist, but the pale face might as well belong to some intern who knew he was in trouble.

"Not a single test we did ever indicated a failure of the cure." The scientist said stiffly. "And there were also no indications of Mystique´s mutation still being active when she was captured."

This brought on a snort from the middle aged man who seemed to be in charge. "I´d like to know what you call this if not an indication of her mutation still being there!"

"Mystique never showed any potential of being able to turn off security cameras." Hotch pointed out. "Someone else was there as well."

Strauss looked up, startled and went over to Rossi to look at the camera.

"We have confirmed the claw marks belonging to Sabretooth and assumed him to be that visitor Raven talked about. But he´s also not able to do that." She said, frowning at the screen that now replayed the interrogation again. About to point out something else, Strauss caught Rossi´s gaze and instead of saying what was on her mind, she bit her lips.

"We are still investigating." 'Man in charge' said.

"One of my Agents is missing, we want in." Hotchner said. It was not surprise for Erin Strauss or David Rossi, even if the former wouldn´t have dared to make such demands. The man however, almost choked on his breath and if the scientist would turn any whiter, Rossi might even worry about his health.

"This is a matter of national security!" The screech of the middle aged man made his disbelief over such daring obvious.

"And as such, it should be handled with upmost importance." Strauss interfered. "Having a team of profilers included won´t hurt the investigation, but it might speed it up."

"Then choose a different team!" The man said disgusted. "They are already emotionally involved."

No one found it necessary to point out the ridicule of this statement in front of Rossi´s calm nature, Hotchner´s unmoving stance and the man´s almost choleric behavior.

"Doctor Reid is part of my team." Hotch continued. "As such, we can assume that should Reid be able to contact anyone, it will be someone of my team."

"Agent Hotchner´s team is also one of the most successful ones within the whole BAU." Erin pointed out, not without glee. After all, just a few minutes ago the man had tried to hold her responsible for one of the Agents apparent mistake.

"I have informed myself about your so called most successful team. They-" The man started, clearly about to add his name to the list of women and men who had listed off the many, many points Erin herself had listened to so often. The mistakes, breaks in protocol and what not she herself had more than once used. Now, she held no patience to hear it again. Thankfully, Rossi saved them all from that.

"I think we can start by you sending us over the transcript and the video. The unmuted one." He said, pointing at the screen where once again, Mystique smiled at Spencer as he returned to the room after having left it for a few minutes.

The man took a deep breath, probably to shout outraged, but Rossi didn´t let that hinder him from talking.

"We will want to do this as soon as we can." He said and as if they had practiced it, Aaron continued.

"If Mystique´s mutant power is still there after being hit by the cure, this might apply to other mutants as well."

This stopped even that man from shouting and Rossi found out that yes, the scientist could turn even paler. No one needed to say it aloud, but they all thought about one man. The one man who was able to order Sabretooth and provoke Mystique back into action. And who might also be able to influence the recording of the cameras. After all, most parts of them were metallic.

* * *

Spencer woke up with the mother of all headaches. Again.

He was rather tired of having headaches all the time, but none of the things Maeve recommended to him when they first appeared seemed now to work.

Moaning softly, he reached for his temples and tried to open his eyes. His vision was blurry for a moment, but then he found himself observing an environment he never saw before. Lying on a bed he didn´t know.

The memories hit him like a sledgehammer.

_Raven Darkholme. Her sudden attack. There were little pieces of her blue face, smiling in excitement as she looked at down on him. He didn´t remember how they got out of the high security building, but there were faint impressions of being carried by someone much larger than the petit woman. _

Instantly, he scolded himself. She could change her form, of course she could shift into someone larger.

Still, he was sure someone else had been there. _Too many voices. Snippets of conversations. Alarm sirens. People shouting. Shooting._

_"__-need to keep him."_ Someone had said that. He knew that voice. But he couldn´t remember the face of the man it belonged to. Groaning, Spencer sat up. The young man was not used to being so incapable of remembering. There had only been a few occasions in his life when he had felt like that. None of them were pleasant.

_An animalistic and clearly disapproving growl had sounded. The body he was pressed against had vibrated._ So the one carrying him had growled. Spencer almost felt proud of being able to put at least some facts together.

The same voice he had heard growl in his memories, he now heard chuckle darkly. The young Doctor snapped to attention and turned around as fast as his uncooperative limbs allowed.

"Wonder what he wants you for." The man said, observing him like a prey. If anything, he looked intimidating and dangerous.

He knew the mutants file.

Sabretooth.

Spencer paled.

* * *

"Sir!" It was not usual to see Penelope Garcia running through the corridors. The unit chief and all of the other team members looked up from the copies of the transcript they had been given.

Panting heavily, Garcia gasped.

"I- I found something!"

If anyone would have bothered to stop the time, Aaron Hotchner's profiler team would have broken every record by how fast they gathered in a conference room.

The video was short and it ended in the same way the videos of the security cameras capturing part of Mystiques escape had ended. But this time, there was no high security facility being seen.

Instead, they looked inside the wagon of a metro station. If Penelope had cared to look, she would have seen the moment they realized who they saw sitting there, on his way to work on each of the profilers faces. Intrigued, one after another leant forward do look at the recorded tape.

"That´s Spence." JJ said, obviously surprised. Not for the presence of the young man, but for the fact that there was no book or file in his hands. Instead, the Doctor's head was leant back and he appeared stressed. Even the more than lacking quality of the video did not disguise the tense posture of their colleague.

Aaron frowned.

"He doesn´t pay attention to his surroundings." He stated. Despite his wording, it was not an accusation. He simply stated a fact.

"Oh, he should be." Garcia said, looking crestfallen. "Look at who´s getting in."

Gasps could be heard, when a large man entered the wagon.

"Damn." Derek cursed.

"That´s Creed." Rossi said. "And he´s not alone."

As one, their attention shifted to the older man who positioned himself close to Spencer, and without blocking Creeds view of the young Doctor. He was wearing a hat and conveniently, he placed himself so that most of his face was unrecognizable. But they could still see a thin mouth with harsh lines surrounding it.

"They are talking about him." Blake threw in. Lines appeared on her forehead, as she attempted to read their lips. They all held their breath, but the woman´s next words crushed the fleeting hope at once. "I can´t make out their words, but it´s clear on their body language."

"Look at Spence." JJ suddenly said. Their colleague was reaching for his temples and it was obvious he suffered from a headache even on the low quality footage.

Transfixed as they had been by the two men entering, everyone except for Jennifer had neglected to pay attention to Reid.

Silence followed at that. Now shifting their attention between Creed and his accomplice and Reid, they watched as Spencer started to massage his temples and attempt to do some simple breathing practices. There was a slight shaking in his body. Which, considered this was the security video of a metro wagon, meant the man was trembling. Then the older man´s mouth twisted into a smile that made some of the people in the conference room shiver. The next moment, the camera stopped working.

Silence filled the room.

"We need to consider two things." Rossi's careful voice broke the silence. "We need to find out who that man is and why and for how long they have such an interest in Spencer."

"And we need to find out what is going on with Reid and if it´s related to this case." Hotch added, before his gaze settled first on JJ, then Derek Morgan and finally on Blake. "Did he mention getting headaches again?" No one mentioned the fact that Hotchner officially didn´t know about the previous ones.

All three profilers shook their heads, so Aaron extended his questioning gaze to the other people. But Rossi and Garcia also didn´t seem to know about it either. The unit chief frowned in disapprove, before he leant back.

"It appears as if his condition worsens with their presence." He stated and instantly, the rest protests.

"That could be coincidence." Blake pointed out.

"Maybe the other bad guy is a mind manipulating bad guy!" Garcia threw in and Derek hummed. Rossi folded his hands and said:

"I won´t dismiss it entirely, but it does appear rather farfetched."

It earned him a scowl from Garcia. Before anyone could throw in another remark, Hotch lifted one hand, effectively silencing the team.

"There is something else you might need to know. I didn´t see it as relevant to the case before, but now there might be a chance it is." Leaning back, the dark haired Agent looked in faces both anticipating and wary. "Reid initially refused to do the interview with Raven Darkholme."

Seeing their questioning faces, he elaborated.

"Unfortunately, the orders came from someone with much authority and short from firing him, I wouldn´t have been able to stop this interview." He hesitated for a moment. "At least not with normal means. It didn´t seem appropriate to fully go out over something I so far considered a personal preference of Reid´s."

"What do you mean?" Blake questioned and leant her head to the side.

"In the past, Reid avoided interviewing mutants." Aaron said. "He even went so far as to specifically request someone else doing the interview. I assumed he must have had some… dislike of them. Maybe based on something happening in the past." The last part was almost added as an excuse when he saw the way his team reacted to Reid being accused of something like mutant hatred. Everywhere in law enforcement, there was always someone who was against mutants but as long as things didn´t turn really nasty, only few seemed willing to step up against it.

"Hotch-" Morgan started and then sighed. "Reid is not anti-mutant."

It made Hotchner frown.

"I know it´s hard to believe, but his behavior is rather telling. There is no reason for him to avoid doing his job where it concerns mutants other than that."

"He isn´t!" Now JJ stepped up as well. "I´ve seen him often with mutants and I´ve never noticed any disdain or anything! He´s been acting as if there was no mutation!"

"He´s been giving lectures to my neighbor's son, whose a mutant. The boy´s been bullied and lacked some of the lessons at school. Reid brought him back up." Garcia threw in. "He wouldn´t have done that if he was a mutant hater."

Now the frown on Hotchner´s face deepened, but gained another quality. It was no longer disapproving, but concentrating.

"Then why should he avoid interviewing mutant suspects?" Rossi spoke out the one question they all had no answer to.

* * *

Spencer Reid was so tense, his muscles actually ached. He starred transfixed at the feral mutant, as if he expected him to attack at any minute.

Creed, obviously amused, curled his lips into a smile that showed off his fanglike teeth.

"To think such a skinny thing is a fed." He growled and stepped closer.

"Victor, don´t scare our guest." Magneto´s voice broke made Sabretooth stop and turn around. Erik smiled drily and lifted his chess piece. Under the watchful eyes of Victor Creed, the box flowed over to a table. Kept in the air by the metal pieces stored within.

Reid took in a sharp breath.

"You are Magneto." He concluded and Creed barked out a laugh.

"You didn´t know?" The large mutant chuckled. Even that sounded dangerous.

"I don´t make a point of showing my face around." Erik said, the smile unwavering, but never reaching his eyes. "The means of humans to secure what they consider their ground… Your camera´s are so easily manipulated."

It was one of the reasons people had not been able to recognize him. Magneto, as long as he didn´t want to be caught on camera, was not caught on camera. And it´s been a while since he last broadcasted his face over the globe.

Reid was suspiciously silent. Even when Creed left the room after being ordered by Erik to walk out.

There were still a few moments of silence before the master of Magnetism pointed towards the chess piece.

"Care for a game, Doctor Reid?" He offered, while he went over.

"No, thank you." Was the instant answer as Spencer shifted away from the man. This time, Erik´s smile did reach his eyes. Sitting down, Erik reached for the game and opened the board, turned it around and set it on the table. The moment the lid was off, the pieces floated out and once Lehnsherr set the chessboard down, they started to arrange themselves under the watchful eyes of their owner.

"But I insist. There are few things as reviving as a challenging game of chess." He paused for moment and looked up. "Especially if the company is good." Then he looked to the board again and nodded.

Spencer neither answered or moved. Magneto´s eyes bore into him, as the older man leant back.

"Or maybe you don´t care for my company?"

Silence.

Erik decided to press further.

"It couldn´t be because I´m a mutant, Doctor? After all, so are you."

* * *

They had decided to approach this from different angles.

Morgan and Rossi were watching and analyzing the video of Spencer´s interview with Mystique as well as her break out.

Garcia attempted to find out more about the old man accompanying Victor Creed as well as finding out more about Creed and Mystique and the reason for the cameras failures. At the same time, she – quite guiltily – tried to find out if Spencer had visited any doctors about his headaches. It took her ten minutes to announce that there were at least no records of him doing it.

At the same time, her computer compiled a list of files with all cases Spencer worked on which included mutants.

Hotch and Blake went out to categorize and file the damage done during the break out and kidnapping as well as interview the security personal who witnessed the event.

JJ however, was the first to report her findings when they met again. Right after Garcia assured them it was safe to talk.

"William Reid has absolutely no idea of why Spence might have some aversion against mutants." She said as she sat down. "And Diana Reid was not… in the mood to talk." The blond finished. "Her doctor couldn´t give me any hints on when there might be a good time to reach her in a better condition."

Leaning back, she looked over to Garcia.

"His neighbors agreed with what you said, Spence did help out around his own neighborhood as well and made no difference between mutant or non-mutant." She didn´t favor the words 'mutants and humans'. It sounded as if mutants were not human at all and she didn´t like that.

Penelope sighed and shook her head.

"But boy genius _did_ avoid interviewing them. I even found official requests to forward interviews to someone else. It does happen to all of us, not being available is no crime. But practically all of the denied interviews were mutants and only one was not. It´s when his mother had that accident last year and he flew over to see her." She looked both confused as well as disturbed by her findings.

"He seemed very harsh in his interview with Miss Darkholme." Rossi offered.

"And eager to get out." Derek added.

But that was something they already knew. So the profilers continued.

"And he tried to physically stay away from her as much as possible." David continued.

"Reid even wanted to leave." Morgan took over and slightly amused, Garcia wondered if they would make a game of taking turns. Then Morgan just had to ruin it and continue.

"According to the stuff they sent over, he suspected she might be up to something and didn´t want talk. He wanted to abort the interview, but was sent back in. The rest- you get it."

Rossi hummed in agreement.

"He made that point far faster than I would consider valid for a profiler like him."

By the way Hotchner reached for his head he also might suffer from migraines. Reid indulged migraines.

"What else?"

"Uhm…" They turned to Garcia and she fidgeted nervously. "That man… I think it´s Magneto."

And just like that, the silence was back.

"Damn." Derek cursed. Penelope sent him a sympathetic glance.

"Another bad villain returning to power." She didn´t sound very enthusiastic about it.

"Another failure of the cure." Blake added.

"Someone´s not going to be pleased." JJ muttered, referring to the choleric man in charge of this case.

"It fits with our findings." Aaron said with a stoic expression.

"Question is, why didn´t he use his power earlier." David said. "Why now? He could have cut off the security cameras sooner, so we wouldn't have seen him and Creed at all. Or don´t do it at all if he didn´t want to raise suspicion. Why did he do it just then?" The senior profiler looked over at Aaron. "I think you might be right by assuming Reid´s headache is affected by their presence."

"Or maybe they are affected by Reid." Someone had to say it and as the unit chief, Aaron Hotchner was the one to do it. He looked at his team. Their faces betrayed their thoughts; they all had reached the same conclusion.

"Magneto and Mystique both only used their powers after having spent time around Reid." His voice turned hard and although he knew he didn't have to say it out loud, he still wanted to make it clear.

"This information is not to be shared with anyone outside this room. But as of now, we have to assume Reid is a mutant. One who is able to affect, increase or even heal other mutants powers after they were hit by the cure."

_Tbc._

* * *

Okay… I hope you liked it and I´ll see you next chapter ^^


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**: _I´m very excited to see some people seem to be interested in this story^^ This chapter is a bit on the short side ._. But I didn´t want to keep you waiting any longer and there´s a lot happening in this chapter ^^_

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Garcia's fingers lied on the keys of her keyboard. But they were not moving. Surrounded by the team, she should feel better. But all of them were tense.

Three weeks.

They had yet to discover a lead. The whereabouts of their youngest member remained unknown. Which did not mean that Magneto had been lying low. The conference rooms walls were covered with pictures of break outs. Pictures of bend iron bars, death or injured guards and profiles of mutant criminals who escaped their cells.

Right now, they were sitting in Garcia´s living room and far away from the files. They didn´t need them. By now, each member of the team probably knew each detail by mind. What they did need however, was the privacy and safety of their tech´s home. If anyone was able to cover the possibility of being spied on through technical means.

Having discovered Magneto´s involvement was something that had earned the team a lot of points. Sooner or later, someone would have noticed as well, so Hotch took the chance and informed the higher ups. When Brown, a.k.a 'The Choleric' was informed of Magneto´s involvement, his staff literally fled the scene. Aaron Hotchner had been smart enough to stay. Many would have sent the information through a report while they stayed as far away as physically possible. But being a profiler, Hotch had stayed and observed the man´s behavior. What he saw did not bode well for Reid and it worried the team.

Since then, the resources, including a lot of money and manpower had been increased each day. And each day, their worries grew.

No one had so much as breathed a hint of their suspicions in the general direction of anyone who was not part of the team. No one dared to think of what might happen to their youngest member if anyone ever came to the same conclusion but they all dreaded the possibility. The question of why Reid was taken had been asked by various Agents at some point or another, but so far they had been able to pull of the 'wrong time, wrong place' excuse. Reid, appearing young and physically not as fit as most Agents. But due to his intelligence and degrees and his position as a member of an elite team made him valuable. He must have seemed like the perfect victim to take hostage. It was their explanation for why Mystique had insisted on Reid being the interviewer.

The explanation worked so far, but the risk of someone questioning it by some point was high. After all, no demands had been made and judged by the way the attacks had been planned, no inside information had been gained by the mutants. There was no explanation of why they held the BAU genius prisoner. Till now, most Agents suspected Magneto to have some further plans they had not been able to see through yet.

It was nerve wrecking.

Adding to everything already piled up was the high possibility that Reid was a mutant. So far, the team had not discussed this particular conclusion. At least not in context as to how they felt about it. Everybody was aware of it but no one dared to mention it. In their line of work, they often met mutants and in silent agreement, they stayed professional whenever the topic came up. Their own preferences or feelings were set aside and they tried their best to treat mutants the same as non-mutants. Just like they tried to not prejudge people because of race, sex, religion or sexual tendencies. Often, these things became part of the investigations in one way or another, but they were doing their best to treat it as just that.

They knew they had to talk about it. But if possible, they wanted to do this while Reid was present and able to speak for himself.

Derek Morgan leant back. The man was clearly exhausted. All of them were. Sleep was rare, since they had to work during office hours, when they attempted to chase down leads and in their spare time, when it was safe to talk about the one thing they didn´t dare to talk about in the office.

But lately their meetings had become more and more silent. Each member looked at the rest of the team, hoping any of them might find something, anything to bring back Reid.

Neither of them did.

* * *

One month, six days, nine hours, twelve minutes and eight seconds.

All this time, Spencer was not allowed to leave the house and frankly, he didn´t even want to leave the room.

Whenever he did, someone was following him. Most of the times, it was Sabretooth and the man´s company was disturbing. The feral seemed to be in charge of babysitting him, as he had put it. And he didn´t appear to appreciate the task.

Although he would have preferred to stay in his room, Spencer still went out. He took notice of his surrounding and the layout of the building. The people he met. Occasionally, he was asked to join Magneto for Lunch or Dinner. The man, usually accompanied by a silent Mystique who most of the time wore her human form, didn´t allow for him to refuse. Sabretooth made sure of that.

Today, Reid had decided to perform a little experiment.

"No." he said stubbornly and Victor Creed growled in anger.

"You don´t want to annoy me, pup." The feral threatened and stepped closer to the agent. Reid carefully observed the man. He knew Creed was short tempered, but he needed more information on the man to create a valid profile. He had tried to coax Creed into conversation, but the only answers he received were either growling or snapping.

He had tried to get the man to slip on some information by aiming for his ego and questioning why he had been chosen for this 'babysitting task'. In vain, the annoyed man had snapped, bared his teeth and locked him into his room for the rest of the day. Not caring to bring around any food or drinks.

This tactic only provided him with new information about Creed the first three times. Afterwards, there was nothing new to be learned.

So Spencer had attempted to aim from the combative side of the feral and dared him into a game of poker. But for some reason card games were not allowed. He wrecked his brain trying to find out why, but without any more clues, it was a useless attempt.

It was obvious both of them were bored to death, but Sabretooth could only be persuaded once in a while to give him a book. If he hadn´t read it already, it took him one hour at most to do it. There was no television in his room, so he had no means to follow the news and maybe find out about the investigation concerning this case.

He even went back to meditating once in a while but feeling Sabretooth watch him, he couldn´t concentrate. He didn´t feel save enough to blend out his surroundings. Scheming escape plans and inventing new strategies to gain more information were the only occupation left.

His current attempt was as a really simple one.

Being stubborn.

So he crossed his arms and starred back at Creed. The man growled and stepped even closer.

"Get out."

"No."

"GET OUT!" The volume of Creed´s voice was rather impressive, and Reid flinched. The man increasingly acted as moody as a caged animal and his temper had become really short these past few days. But the agent was pretty sure by now that the man was not allowed to kill him. So he silently starred back and didn´t move.

When the feral moved, Reid´s heart stopped for a second. He knew the man was dangerous, but so far, Creed had not even touched him once, purely relying on his threatening presence. Again, Reid reminded himself that the man was not allowed to kill him. Even though he appeared enraged enough to do so. Spencer swallowed the bile in his throat nevously. But when Victor growled and stepped into his personal space, instinct let him back away from the animalistic mutant and out of the man´s reach. Instantly, the man's eyes narrowed and Creed reached out again.

This time, Spencer avoided him on purpose and not just out of reflex.

The next time Creed reached for him, it was much faster and the sound coming from the feral's throat made a shiver run down Spencer´s spine. Reid stumbled back when he saw the growing claws until his back hit the wall. He let out an undignified squeal as Sabretooth growled again and before he knew it, that beast was charging at him again.

Reid was no fighter, but he had been bullied at a young age and learned to run from his tormentors very early. Now, he did just that. When the tapestry was shred to pieces beside his shoulder, he didn´t think much anymore, he made a run for the door. Thankfully, it wasn´t locked and he threw it close behind himself. The lock fell in place almost the same moment something, or rather someone, heavy fell against the door. Spencer paled when he heard the enraged, animalistic sound coming from behind the door. But at the same time, he took his chance. Adrenalin pumping through his veins, the agent ran as fast as he could, following the path his memory provided without actually overthinking it. He knew he should be careful and avoid running into someone, but when he heard the splitting of the wood behind him, the only thought running through his mind was to get away. He had seen how thick the door was, knew the force needed to destroy it. And knew it was more than enough to break him in half if Creed only got a hold of him.

Too soon, his lungs were hurting, his sides burning. He made it down one staircase, before something heavy hit him from behind.

Oh god. Spencer's breath hitched in panic. He felt like toy, when the feral gripped him and threw him on his back and the agent kicked out without even thinking. It earned him a grunt, but did nothing to stop Sabretooth. The young man let out a pained, breathless scream when metal claws dug through the lithe cotton of his pants and into his legs. Reid tried to pull himself up and away from Creed, but instead was dragged back towards the man. He looked up into murderous eyes and bared teeth and knew that this was how someone felt who was attacked by an animal before they were killed.

At this moment, Spencer was convinced that Creed would tear him apart and he wanted to cower away. Shield his body with his arms and legs and hope someone might find him before Sabretooth killed him. But some part of his brain seemed to still function enough to realize Creeds behavior as what it was. It was nothing he thought through, but he trusted his mind more than his instincts and instead of hiding away, he did something entirely else. Never in his life had it been harder to fight his body, it´s instincts and the natural response to shield his vital parts from danger. More so, he forced himself into a valuable position and did the one thing animals did when surrendering. Spencer knew he was shaking when he let his head fall back and his body go as limp as possible. All the time, he anticipated nothing else than having his throat ripped open.

Spencer closed his eyes and held his breath.

The seconds rushed by as and the only thing he felt was Creeds weight pinning him down. The only thing he heard was his own blood, rushing through his veins, his heartbeat frantic and too fast.

His body started to shake harder, his muscles tight with tension when he felt Creed move.

Spencer held his breath, when he felt teeth graze over the pale column of his neck and bit down hard enough to leave a mark. Spencer bit down on his bottom lip to hinder any sounds escaping his lips and forced his body to lie still. Slowly, to not provoke the feral, he even turned his head to the side. On this, his instinct and his brain agreed. Turning his face away from Creed also allowed the man better access to his neck and finally, Creed let go and a dark, amused chuckle was heard.

Spencer almost dared to relax, but a rough tongue flicked over the painful mark. The young man couldn´t suppress the flinch, but Creed didn´t seem to mind. Instead, the man let go of him and stood up. Slowly, Reid let his held in breath escape his burning lungs.

"Get up." The feral ordered and knowing that disobeying the man now would lead to consequences, Spencer attempted to pull himself up. But his limps were shaking and his muscles didn´t want to move fast enough.

When Victor stepped closer again, Spencer´s first instinct was stumbling back, but since he was not even on his feed yet and his legs still shaky, the attempt to get away which would most likely cost him dearly, was prevented before it started.

The feral threw him over one shoulder as if he weighted nothing and Spencer did his best to not protest, but calm down. The scratches on his legs hurt, his heart was still pounding, his limps shaking and the last thing he wanted was to be anywhere near that mutant. But he also understood that now was not the time to protest anything the man did. He was aware that if he had not surrendered, Creed most likely would have given a crap about Magneto and killed him out of animal instinct. The slightest protest now could trigger the animal in the mutant again and this time, Creed won´t hesitate again. So, as much as he didn´t want to be carried around like some possession, he knew the alternative was far worse.

To stabilize Spencer on his shoulder, the feral had one arm wrapped around the Doctors legs and his fingers bore into the scratches his claws had left. Reid bit down on his lower lip to hinder himself from making any sound. He knew the man did that on purpose. Not only because he was a sadistic bastard – which he most likely really was – but also just because he could. He was proving his dominance and deliberately testing the younger man.

Breathe in, breathe out. In. Out. Closing his eyes, the agent concentrated on his breathing, pushing the pain and his feelings down. Slowly, the trembles from his panic faded and Creed must have noted, because he hummed slightly before he surprisingly let him stand on his own legs again. However, the moment he felt the ground beneath his feet again, Spencer also felt a strong grip on his upper arm. One he knew would bruise but also he didn´t protest.

Being dragged around was at least more dignified than being carried. He was almost grateful to be allowed to walk on his own when they reached the library and he saw Magneto was not alone. This time, it was not Mystique who was accompanying him. From time to time, other people would join them for lunch or dinner but this time, no food was around. And this time, the meeting was clearly not one of these pretended social gatherings. Magneto wore the helmet he was usually seen with. Which meant one of the two people had to be a telepath.

The nervous looking man, who occasionally peeked into Sabretooth's direction most likely was not. His hands were clinging to a small box and when he looked at Spencer, his eyes widened and his gaze wouldn't leave the profilers neck.

Magneto's gaze also set on the bite mark and he lifted his gaze to Sabretooth while the woman looked at Spencer´s neck and lifted one eyebrow. A slow smirk played on her lips and Reid almost found himself blushing. It´s not as if this was a love bite, for heaven´s sake and he met her eyes, refusing to let the color come to his cheeks.

"Don´t get you panties in a twist." Creeds voice suddenly sounded from beside Spencer as the feral pushed the agent down on the free couch. "Just showing the pup his place. Thought he could make a run for it." The man chuckled, as if amused. He didn´t sit down but took place behind the couch. Instantly, Spencer felt uncomfortable again. Both because he didn´t like the feeling of the feral standing behind him and for the intense staring he found himself the object of.

Magneto let out a disapproving chuckle, but didn´t comment further. Instead, he looked over to the blond woman. Her posture became rigid and her gaze bore into Spencer's.

He felt the telepathic attack instantly and both mentally and physically, he backed away. The next moment, he could feel Creeds claws on his shoulders and his eyes were unable to leave face. Instantly, he braced himself against the intrusion.

"He´s shielding. I'm not sure he knows himself how to do it, it seems based on reflexes and intentions rather than coherent thoughts. But he´s shielding." The woman´s voice suddenly sounded. Her gaze wandered to Magneto, but the pressure in Spencer´s head didn´t lessen for a bit. Definitely not a lower class of telepaths then.

"You want me to break in anyway?" She wanted to know and Reid bit his lips in anger at the way she not only assumed to be able to gain free access to his mind, but also at the display of how insignificant his own will seemed to be to her. Well, she was in for a surprise. Mentally, he braces himself. Prepared himself for what was to come.

When Magneto nodded, the woman turned back to Spencer. She came in easy enough, he didn´t put too much effort into keeping her out anymore.

The next moment, she screamed.

* * *

"I have bad news." Beast said, as he entered the room. By now, he was finally getting used to not looking out for Charles or Scott anymore. Instead, his eyes searched for Ororo.

He found her sitting at the table, looking up from some document she laid aside. When she attempted to stand up to greet him, he just shook his head. It was well meant and polite, but he preferred her to stay seated for this.

"Magneto is back." Hank dropped the bomb without further ado and could see her pale.

"What?" For once, Ororo´s voice sounded faint as her usually dark skin paled.

"It took me a while to find out what was going on." Beast said, as he sat down in the seat in front of her desk. "Even the people I am on friendly terms with…" He shrugged, but mentally he cursed the disaster left by phoenix. "It took them a while to make sure I could be trusted." His expression darkened. "Which means, we are not up to date with the information." This was bad, they both knew it.

"You fought against him! We all did!" The African beauty protested.

"But I´m a mutant, Ororo." McCoy said gently. She didn´t answer to that, but her mouth twisted into a bitter smile.

"We lost so many to that war and they still can´t look past some different skin or eyes and talents given by nature." She said and sighed. "And now… it will be worse when it gets out that Magneto is back."

"Don´t be a pessimist." Hank tried to reason. "It could be the opposite. There was no more obvious display that mutants are just as different in their views and opinions as the fight of the X-men against Magneto´s schemes."

"Now you´re too optimistic." Storm snorted. "I´d rather be pessimistic and prepared." Then she fell silent for a few seconds. Looking to Hank, she hesitantly asked:

"But didn´t you say the cure was too strong for any mutant hit by it to regain their powers?" She didn´t want to blame him, so she carefully worded her question. Still, he corrected her.

"I said it´s too strong to regain any _significant_ powers." The scientist said. "A small recover was possible, but unlikely and depending on the original strength of-" He stopped himself when he saw the way she looked at him. If it were possible to see past the blue fur, she was sure she would see him blushing and allowed herself a small smile.

"But you are right of course." Hank continued and looked possibly miserable. "I have no idea how he did it. I don't have much information, but it´s valid. And the amount of power used... I haven´t seen any proof of him really stretching his abilities and going to the limit like the time when he moved that bridge, but he didn´t have a reason to do something so stressing so far. What I have seen of his use of power so far indicated a return of his powers to at least class two level. Most likely more."

Ororo took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"That´s bad." She said.

"There´s more." The blue furred mutant in front of her said and she looked up into his face again.

"He´s breaking mutants out of prison. The ones who are known for supporting the brotherhood's goals. And he recovered the helmet, so we can assume he has at least one telepath on his side." Obviously, Hank decided to not hold back on bad news in this meeting. Storm didn´t blame him, she needed to know these things.

"We will need to arrange a meeting with the other members and see if we can find out more about his actions." The woman said and stood up. "And-" The moment she looked into his face she stopped short. Dread filled her.

"There´s more?"

McCoy took a deep breath.

"Hank?" Now she was worried. His next words confirmed that she was worried for a reason.

"Mystique broke out. And has regained her abilities."

Hank McCoy was a well read and educated man who spoke many languages.

But never in his life had he heard such colorful curses before.

Tbc.

* * *

_Soo… I´m curious to see what you think of it and hope you will let me know ^^ I know we have not seen much of Remy yet, but we´ll come to that eventually ^^°_

**Review-Replies:**

Noobz40: Welcome back :D Thank you for sticking with this story and I´m happy to read you loved the last one ^^ I hope you liked this one as well :D

Awesomeness: Thank you! Glad to hear you liked it ^^ The chapter is a bit short, but I didn´t want to keep you waiting ;) I hope you enjoyed this one as well :D


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